Birth Month Flowers – An In-Depth Guide

A popular and common tradition is to associate various items with the month of your birth. This goes hand-in-hand with Zodiacal readings, Chinese mythology, and many new-age religions, and often plays an important part in gift-giving on peoples’ birthdays. Birth month flowers and birthstones are the two most common varieties, and we’ve put together this handy guide to the former.

Birth month flowers are chosen for their historical and traditional meanings, which can often be interpreted as ways of determining a child’s personality and characteristics. As such, birth month flowers make an excellent choice as birthday gifts or as decorations for a birthday party.
Birth Month Flowers – Guide

It can often be confusing or even daunting trying to remember all of the different birth month flowers, which is why we’ve assembled this guide. It lists each month and its corresponding flowers, briefly describes the colors and characteristics of the flowers, and lists their traditional meanings.

· January – Carnation. Carnations have been popular flowers for many years, and cultivated for over two millennia. Originally a pinkish hue, they have since been bred to produce a myriad of vibrant colors.

· May – Lily of the Valley. This plant species is commonly grown in gardens for its pleasing scent and beautiful appearance. Rather than sporting a single blossom, each stem contains a number of bell-shaped white flowers.

This plant represents sweetness, hope, humility and fertility.

· June – Rose. Roses are the most popular flower in the world, and have long been associated with love and passion. A common garden plant, these creeping vine-like shrubs produce blossoms in a wide variety of colors that all share a pleasant scent highly valued by the perfume industry.

As birth month flowers, roses represent love and affection.

· July – Water lily. Water lilies are more commonly known as lily pads, which are often found in ponds and rivers throughout the world. They produce an attractive white flower that floats on the surface on a stem attached to the body of the plant itself.

Water lilies represent laughter and purity of heart.

· August – Gladiolus. Also known as the sword lily, thanks to its name and shape, this plant grows long spike-like stems that bear many blossoms on a single side. Widely valued for their pleasing scent, these flowers are variously colored from pink to reddish or light purple and white.

· September – Aster. Named after the Greek word for “star,” the aster are a common variety of field-dwelling plants that sport large blue, purple or white flowers.

The aster represents love, daintiness and affection.

· October – Calendula. Also known as the common pot marigold, calendulas are popular spring and summer flowers that are often found in gardens. These hardy plants offer vibrant yellow, orange and red blossoms.

As birth month flowers, they represent joy and modesty.

· November – Chrysanthemum. These popular plants were cultivated in Ancient China as far back as 1500BC. They lend themselves well to ornamentation and decoration, and come in a wide variety of colors.

They represent Cheerfulness, rest, loveliness and wealth.

· December – Holly. This symbol of Christmas is an attractive flowering plant that sports tiny white flowers and red berries. The berries are mildly toxic to people, so are definitely not recommended as a snack.

With this useful guide in hand, you should have no trouble planning or designing appropriate floral displays as birthday gifts. Head on over to your local florist’s shop or visit them online to find more information about how to order flowers.

Next time a birthday rolls around, consider presenting them with a bouquet of expertly-chosen birth month flowers. Mixing them with other blossoms that are personal favorites of the recipient is a great idea, as are creating combinations of colors that balance well with each other. For advice on how best to do this, your florist will be happy to assist.